I have to say that I’m rather glad to see at least a couple of mainstream articles questioning the mass marketing impulses behind Breast Cancer Awareness Month, aka October. The marketing hype reminds me a little of the "Think Pink" musical sequence from the movie Funny Face, with Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn. If you can take the scene (which doesn't feature either star), here you go: … [Read more...]

Kathyrn Lopez has an interesting piece on Stephen Colbert and his Catholic identity. I have to say that I find it refreshing because it's not political. I wish we could find more Catholic discourse in this vein.Lopez links to Colbert's recent appearance on "The View" Barbara Walters brings up his Catholic faith and his family. Rattling off the names of his siblings earns him an applause. Upon which he comments, "I hope that applause is for my mother's womb." If you listen carefully, you … [Read more...]

So Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-Ohio) voted for the health care legislation and says that he's pro-life even though the legislation includes taxpayer funded abortion. Pro-life groups did a good job of spreading awareness about the problematic aspects of the legislation before the final vote; so its content, at least on major pro-life issues, is no secret. And no one took the executive order seriously since it has no binding power.Driehaus isthreatening the president of the Susan B. Anthony List, … [Read more...]

This week Iwrote about Katy Perry's new song, "Teenage Dream." While not wanting to attribute any ill intent to Perry, I think the song's lyrics say a lot about how we tend to view relationships and marriage as reflected by our current divorce trends and cohabitation practices.Seems to me that a lot of us have bought into the teenage fantasy of escapism and running from problems rather than facing them. I don't fault anyone for having that feeling of … [Read more...]

Pope Benedict gave animpromptu talk at the special synod on the Middle East. A synod is basically a meeting of regional bishops and other experts, typically to discuss particular issues and their local effects.Benedict started with a very deep theological treatment of the nature of Jesus as the second person of the trinity and went on to describe Mary's role as the mother of God. And then he applied it to several of the major issues affecting our world: financial markets, drugs, terrorism, … [Read more...]

Started the day with the Catholic Professionals of Seattle Mass, breakfast, and talk. George Weigel spoke about his new book, The End and the Beginning: Pope John Paul II -- The Victory of Freedom, the Last Years, the Legacy, a follow up to his first JP2 book, Witness to Hope.He told a great story. At a meeting in Rome with the priest heading the beatification process for JP2, the priest showed him a room full of letters, all addressed to.....Pope John Paul IIHeavenWhile the … [Read more...]